We provide the below model policies and legal alerts as a public service solely for informational purposes, without any representation that they are accurate or complete.
They do not constitute legal advice and should not be construed as such. JDC's provision of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship between JDC and the recipient and any other person, or an offer to create such a relationship. Consult an attorney if you have any questions regarding the contents of the below documents.
Strategies to Encourage Your Employees to Comply with COVID-19 Safety Plans
As nonprofit organizations in Northern California are returning or contemplating a return to the workplace, they are required to develop COVID-19-related workplace health and safety plans. Since safety protocols are only helpful insofar as employees follow them, CORP is presenting this webinar on 3 strategies for encouraging employee adherence to organizational health and safety protocols. Click here for the presentation slides in PDF format. If you have any follow-up questions from the webinar, please contact CORP at corp@sfbar.org.
Recent Developments Regarding AB5
On Sept. 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) into law. AB5, effective January 1, 2020, codified and elaborated upon a California Supreme Court case (Dynamex), which dramatically changed the standard for determining whether workers in California should be classified as employees or as independent contractors. The Dynamex court held that there is a presumption that workers are employees, and placed the burden on the employer classifying an individual as an independent contractor to prove that such a classification is proper.
Here, Jennifer Yazdi of Hanson Bridgett provides an update on recent developments regarding AB5 during the first half of 2020.
Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a broad impact on most industries and has caused disruptions to the operations of nonprofit organizations. CORP is making pro bono legal services available to help Northern California nonprofits through this crisis, including a series of webinars and virtual Q&A sessions held in April 2020, and we have made the associated resources (created on April 22-24, 2020) available for download by our nonprofit clients. However, in this rapidly-changing environment, we recommend keeping track of current developments by regularly checking information-aggregating resources like the one developed by the California Association of Nonprofits, found here.
Employment Law Issues: Fact Sheet
Employment Law Issues: Webinar Presentation
Commercial Tenant Issues: Fact Sheet
Commercial Tenant Issues: Webinar Presentation
The ABC's of 501(c)(4)'s
Launching a 501(c)(4) can expand the tools available to a nonprofit to complete its work and make change for its constituents. Adding a 501(c)(4) will necessarily create additional work for staff and leadership, from technical tracking to additional reporting to managing separate boards and budgets. However, many organizations find that the added flexibility to conduct more lobbying or some electoral intervention is worth the trade-off. We hope that this brief guide, courtesy of Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, gives you the information you need to weigh these costs and benefits and to assess whether launching ancillary organizations may be worthwhile for your unique context.
Fiscal Sponsorship Basics
Fiscal sponsorship is an alternative to forming a traditional nonprofit public benefit corporation. A fiscal sponsorship relationship allows a charitable project to use the fiscal sponsor organization’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to receive grants and tax-deductible contributions that it would otherwise be unable to receive. This legal alert 1) explores the different models of fiscal sponsorship and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of these types of relationships; and 2) explains the basic process for establishing a fiscal sponsorship relationship.
Intellectual Property Law Basics for Nonprofits
This overview is intended to cover some of the basics behind intellectual property rights so that organizations can identify where they may have a related legal issue.
Benefit Corporations and Flexible Purpose Corporations in California
California corporations have two options for organization under the California Corporations Code: the benefit corporation and the flexible purpose corporation (FPC). In a traditional corporation, directors and officers owe a fiduciary duty primarily to the shareholders of the corporation. Both new forms of California corporations obligate directors and officers to consider the social and environmental impact of their actions on “stakeholders,” i.e., employees, consumers and the environment, as well. This legal alert discusses the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the legal requirements and potential liabilities, of both the benefit corporation and the FPC.